MEC&F Expert Engineers : EPA Inspection Reveals Hazardous Waste Violations at FRC Component Products in Mason City, Iowa

Monday, March 14, 2016

EPA Inspection Reveals Hazardous Waste Violations at FRC Component Products in Mason City, Iowa

Release Date: 03/14/2016
Contact Information: Angela Brees, 913-551-7940, brees.angela@epa.gov

Environmental News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Lenexa, Kan., March 14, 2016) - An EPA Region 7 compliance evaluation inspection of FRC Component Products in Mason City, Iowa, revealed violations of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) related to the storage and handling of hazardous waste. In a settlement filed by EPA in Lenexa, Kan., the company will pay a $3,356 civil penalty to the United States.

As part of the settlement, the company is also required to complete a Supplemental Environmental Project, which will consist of a comprehensive lightbulb retrofit, replacing 2,920 lamps at its manufacturing facility. The cost of this retrofit is estimated at $40,774 and must be completed within six months. This project will supplement FRC Component Products' already existing solar panel program further reducing its environmental footprint.

EPA representatives inspected the facility in August 2014 and determined the company failed to perform waste determinations on multiple paint materials and solvents. FRC Component Products also failed to obtain a RCRA permit for the treatment of its hazardous waste, container management, and posting of emergency equipment. The company also failed to comply with waste management requirements by not closing, labeling and dating some universal waste containers.

In addition to the penalty and lightbulb retrofit, FRC Component Products is required to provide photographic evidence that storage containers are kept closed, and that hazardous waste containers are labeled. The company is also required to submit copies of waste-related shipping papers for 2014 and 2015.

By agreeing to the settlement, FRC Component Products has certified that it is now in compliance with all requirements of RCRA and its implementing regulations.

The RCRA program's goals are to protect human health and the environment from the potential hazards of waste disposal; conserve energy and natural resources; reduce the amount of waste generated; and ensure the wastes are managed in an environmentally-sound manner.